The Reading Comprehension Blueprint: Helping Students Make Meaning from Text

Comprehension is a primary ingredient of reading success—but most educators aren't taught how to deliver structured comprehension instruction in their classrooms. K–8 teachers will find the guidance they need in this groundbreaking professional resource from Nancy Hennessy, former IDA President and an expert on reading comprehension. Meticulously researched and masterfully organized, this book offers a clear blueprint for understanding the complexities of reading comprehension and delivering high-quality, evidence-based instruction that helps students construct meaning from challenging texts.

Aligned with the science of reading and IDA's Structured Literacy approach, this book is a must for in-service educators and an ideal supplement to pair with core literacy textbooks. Today's teachers will get the essential knowledge and practical tools they need to help every student become a proficient reader—and build a strong foundation for school success.

EDUCATORS WILL:

• Get critical background knowledge. Synthesizing decades of research on reading comprehension, this book provides educators with all the fundamentals they need to teach this key component of reading proficiency.
• Master the blueprint. Teachers will get a complete framework for organizing instruction, aligned with the language comprehension strands of Scarborough's Reading Rope. In-depth chapters are devoted to each facet of reading comprehension, including vocabulary, syntax and sentence comprehension, text structures, background knowledge, and levels of understanding and inference.
• Make it work in the classroom. Educators will find practical guidance and tools for planning their units and lessons, adapting to the needs of individual students, and assessing student progress. (An interactive book study guide makes this book easy to use as a professional development resource.)

PRACTICAL MATERIALS: To help them apply the science of reading comprehension and design high-quality instruction, teachers will get classroom activities, sample lesson plans, and questions that help them reflect on and strengthen their practices. The photocopiable teaching resources, including unit and lesson plan organizers, can be used again and again in the classroom.

Ms. Hennessy is an experienced teacher, diagnostician and administrator who currently works as a literacy consultant. Nancy has worked across grade levels K–12 with both general and special educators. While in public schools, she provided leadership in the development of innovative curriculum for special needs students and a statewide revision of special education code, and she led a state-of-the-art professional development program for all teachers. She is a former Wilson Language Lead Trainer and National Trainer for Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS; Sopris-West).

Nancy has delivered keynote addresses, workshops, and training to educators nationally and internationally on topics including professional development, strategic planning, and components of skilled reading and writing and dyslexia. She has also developed professional development offerings on reading instruction for the AIM Institute of Learning & Research and on dyslexia for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. Most recently, Nancy has focused on delivering virtual and in-person professional learning opportunities focused on reading comprehension.

Nancy co-authored the second revision of Module 6 of LETRS, Digging for Meaning: Teaching Text Comprehension, and authored Chapter 15, “Working with Word Meaning: Vocabulary Instruction,†in Multisensory Teaching of Basic Language Skills, fourth edition (Birsh & Carreker, 2018).

Nancy has held various positions for the International Dyslexia Association (IDA), including President, Branch Council Chair, and National Conference Chair. She also served on the National Joint Committee for Learning Disabilities. She is an honorary member of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society, the 2011 recipient of IDA’s Margaret Rawson Lifetime Achievement Award, and the recipient of the 2012 June Lyday Orton Award from the North Carolina Branch of IDA (NCIDA).

Louisa Cook Moats, Ed.D., has published many book chapters, journal articles, and policy papers on reading instruction. Formerly Project Director at the District of Columbia Public Schools site of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Early Interventions Project, Dr. Moats is now an independent consultant and writer who specializes in the professional development of teachers of reading and writing. Dr. Moats spent the 1996-1997 school year as a visiting scholar at the Sacramento County Office of Education, where she authored and presented leadership training materials on early reading for the California State Board of Education. These materials are now required content in all of the professional development programs conducted under Assembly Bill 1086 in California. Dr. Moats received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Wellesley College, her Master of Arts degree from Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, and her doctorate of education in reading and human development from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She worked as a teacher, neuropsychology technician, and specialist in learning disorders prior to her doctoral training. She was a licensed psychologist in private practice for 15 years in Vermont and a graduate instructor both at Harvard and at St. Michael's College in Winooski, Vermont, where she developed innovative courses for teachers linking the disciplines of linguistics and reading education. Specializing in reading development, reading disorders, spelling, and written language, she has written and lectured widely throughout the United States and abroad. She has taught courses in teacher education at the Greenwood Institute in Putney, Vermont, and at Simmons College in Boston. Her publications include this text's companion workbook, Speech to Print Workbook: Language Exercises for Teachers (Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 2003); journal articles; book chapters; a classroom basal spelling program; a book titled Spelling: Development, Disability, and Instruction (York Press, 1995); and a book for parents, co-authored with Susan L. Hall, Straight Talk About Reading: How Parents Can Make a Difference in the Early Years (Contemporary Books, 1999).